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2016-10-13 07:51:40

ARA

American Renal Associates

$18.10

0.52 (2.96%)

, DVA

DaVita

$62.66

0.66 (1.06%)

…07:51

10/13/16

10/13

07:51

10/13/16

07:51

Price targets cut on dialysis stocks at SunTrust

SunTrust analyst David MacDonald lowered his price targets on dialysis stocks, citing CMS' recent request for information and resulting payor risk and lower assumed multiples. The analyst cut his price target on American Renal Associates (ARA) to $24 from $34, on DaVita (DVA) to $66 from $80 and on Fresenius Medical (FMS) to $48 from $54. He maintains Buy ratings on American Renal and Fresenius but said he does not expect the stocks to rise significantly until the CMS matter is resolved. MacDonald keeps a Hold rating on DaVita.

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Alaska Air (ALK) reinstated with an Outperform at Cowen as the firm believes the shares have been unfairly punished over the past quarter and noted their April unit revenue results exceeded expectations. 2. Microsoft (MSFT) initiated with a Hold at Canaccord citing risk-reward is balanced near-term. 3. lululemon (LULU) reinstated with an Underperform at BofA/Merril by analyst Rafe Jadrosich, who said he sees downside to street estimates. The analyst has a lower sales and margin outlook due to intensifying competition and ongoing investments to support international expansion. 4. American Renal Associations (ARA) initiated with a Buy at SunTrust, an Outperform at Wells Fargo, an Overweight at Barclays, and a Neutral at Goldman. MGM Growth (MGP) initiated with a Buy at BofA/Merrill, Deutsche Bank and SunTrust. It was also initiated with a Neutral at Citi, and an Overweight at JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

BofA/Merrill downgraded DaVita (DVA) to Neutral and lowered its price target to $70 saying growth rates are likely to remain muted. The firm's analyst said poor performance at HCP, Inc (HCP) is unlikely to improve in 2017 and tail risk scenarios on a CMS decision could be bigger than expected on the dialysis business.

09/06/16

09/06/16DOWNGRADE

On The Fly: Top five analyst downgrades

Catch up on today's top five analyst downgrades with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Biogen (BIIB) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Jefferies with analyst Brian Abrahams saying his thesis has mostly played out and that shares of Gilead Sciences (GILD) offer greater upside potential. 2. Dollar General (DG) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at Goldman with analyst Stephen Tanal saying same-store-sales have slowed and expects a modest deceleration in earnings growth and further competitive pressures. 3. comScore (SCOR) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at SunTrust with analyst Matthew Thornton saying that consensus 2017 estimates for the company are too high following its August 10 update. 4. Verifone (PAY) downgraded to Hold from Buy at Argus. 5. DaVita (DVA) downgraded to Neutral from Buy at BofA/Merrill with the firm saying growth rates are likely to remain muted. This list is just a portion of The Fly's full analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

09/06/16

09/06/16INITIATION

On The Fly: Top five analyst initiations

Catch up on today's top five analyst initiations with this list compiled by The Fly: 1. Johnson Controls (JCI) initiated with a Sector Perform at RBC Capital with analyst Deane Dray saying he thinks that the company's synergies from its merger can beat expectations, but the analyst says that the stock is already "reflecting optimism." 2. DaVita (DVA) initiated with a Neutral at Citi. 3. Hershey (HSY) reinstated with a Neutral at JPMorgan. 4. Dollar Tree (DLTR) coverage assumed with a Conviction Buy at Goldman. 5. Lockheed Martin (LMT) initiated with a Buy at Citi. This list is just a portion of The Fly's analyst coverage. To see The Fly's full Street Research coverage, click here.

09/20/16

RAJA

09/20/16UPGRADETarget $75RAJAOutperform

DaVita upgraded to Outperform from Market Perform at Raymond James

Raymond James analyst John Ransom upgraded DaVita to Outperform and established a $75 price target. saying shares have corrected by approximately 18% following Q2 results and concerns about ACA exchange exposure. The analyst views valuation as attractive and thinks ACA exposure is a bit less than previous estimates. Further, investor expectations for DVA Medical Group are low and represent less than 10% EBIT, Ransom wrote.

FMSFresenius Medical

$41.26

-0.11 (-0.27%)

05/09/16

BERN

05/09/16NO CHANGEBERN

Teva, Fresenius Medical added to recommended portfolio at Bernstein

Bernstein added Teva (TEVA) and Fresenius Medical (FMS) to its recommended portfolio of healthcare stocks. The firm says that Fresenius is not exposed to the pricing pressures affecting the sector, while Teva will allow investors to take advantage of the strong value opportunity within the pharma sector. In conjunction with its recommendation of Teva and Fresenius, Bernstein upgraded the European healthcare sector two notches, to Overweight from Underweight. The firm says that the downturn in the sector on drug pricing pressures has been overdone. According to the firm, drug prices will be pressured, but pharma stocks are currently reflecting no growth beyond 2020. Bernstein believes that outlook is overly pessimistic.